Organic salad mixes may be the most important part of your organic product line. Organic salad mixes make up more than 10% of organic produce retail sales. Give plenty of attention to this category because it is a surefire way to put more money on the bottom line.
Promote organic salad mixes as you would regular salad mixes, capitalizing on holidays and health-conscious consumers’ buying habits. Consider building an entire organic salad promotion around bagged salad mixes. Include other organic salad items, such as carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions. Round out the promotion with deals on organic salad dressing.
Offer samples of different types of salad mixes to promote not just the salad mixes but different types of salad dressings as well.
Organic salad mixes appeal to both time-crunched and environmentally conscious consumers who are willing to pay a premium for products that satisfy those needs. Give organic salad mixes their own shelf in your salad mix area. This keeps them separate from conventional product for handling reasons and can lessen the sticker shock of their higher price.
Include a variety of organic mixes in your display. Offer organic salad dressings and toppings on your display to capitalize on cross-merchandising opportunities. Don’t forget to include single-serve bowls along with family-size packages.
Include organic salad mixes in your meals ready to eat case as a quick and easy side dish. Include meal ideas in your display to persuade consumers to move salad to the center of the plate.
Shipping
Organic salad mixes are available in a wide variety of shipping options, ranging from cartons of 6, 12-ounce bags to 12, 12-ounce bags. Larger cartons are available as well as custom packs.
Grades
See grades for individual commodities.
Handling
Temperature: 33 F, 0.6 C
Relative humidity: 90-95%
Mist: mesclun, lightly; do not mist wrapped product
Typical shelf life: 10 to 19 days
When stacking containers in the back room, make sure to stack organic items at the top so residue from conventional produce doesn’t drip down onto the organic items.
Organic items can be stored side by side in the cooler as long as no product is touching and no residue can drip from the conventional onto the organic product.
